Community Contributor College of Lake County Public Relations and Marketing

The College of Lake County Lakeshore Campus was chosen to receive the installation of an active learning classroom through the Active Learning Center (ALC) program, a grant initiative founded by Steelcase Education. The program allows educators to implement active learning strategies in a classroom designed for student engagement and collaboration.

The classroom furniture and equipment, valued at $62,000, will be installed at the Lakeshore Campus by Forward Space before Fall Semester 2016 begins. Twelve other schools and universities were chosen from more than 800 applications for their unique approaches to active learning. CLC was the only community college selected nationwide. The active learning classroom will allow for informal sharing, such as casual conversations between students and formal sharing, such as critiques or design reviews, through its maker space supporting ideation and creativity.

"We are honored to be recognized by The Active Learning Center grant," said CLC President Dr. Jerry Weber. "Like Steelcase, we place a priority on providing students with the most engaging and active learning spaces available, so we are excited to be able to continue our mission with the installation of this unique classroom."

Steelcase will train faculty and staff on how to best use the technology and furniture in their new spaces and will have the opportunity to participate in a community of practice with all 13 awarded schools to share insights and best practices. Over the two-year program, Steelcase Education and CLC Lakeshore Campus will conduct assessments and research on the impact of the newly designed space.

"The College of Lake County Lakeshore Campus was chosen for its commitment to utilizing progressive pedagogies and active learning strategies that truly impact student engagement," said Craig Wilson, director of market development, Steelcase Education. "Professors and students will be able to utilize a flexible learning space and explore the capabilities of an environment built specifically for improved engagement and collaboration."

Steelcase research has shown that active learning environments positively impact student engagement. When surveyed, a majority of students and educators reported that the active learning classrooms contributed to higher engagement, the expectation of better grades, more motivation and more creativity, when compared to traditional row-by-row seating.

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